Bazan Bay 5km Race Report

Finishing

I had an exciting weekend with the Bazan Bay 5km on Sunday. The Goal was to secure the World Cup standard of 15.40. I knew I had it in me with a split of sub 16min in the 12km road race three weeks prior. I knew however, a lot can happen in a 5km race. One lapse of concentration can tarnish a kilometer. With such a short race, it can be difficult to get that time back. I wore the Mizuno's Universe 4s for the first time. At 3.8ounces they were amazing! With a flame-like design, I figured that'd be 5seconds simply in appearance.

I think it was synonymous amongst the NTC guys that race warm up felt a tad sluggish. I focused on a real dynamic warm up to limber up. I delayed lining up till the last minute keeping the body moving.

On the line, one last good luck to fellow racers, and the gun went off. Sean Chester and I both slipped on the starting pad. Ok, rough start but we were alright. I found the first km to be quite on and a little uncomfortable. I was a bit concerned at this point as I found it quite difficult to get comfortable and to be in a spot of bother this early makes for a long 5km.... With a bit of an ascent, my first km was 2.59. I was well in the mix so I was happy.

For the next Kilometer I knew I had to settle into a pace. I had to get comfortable. A pack formed moving quickly into the headwind and I found comfort on the shoulder of Andrew Russell, Jeff Phillips and Sean Chester. The pace was kept strong by Matt Clout. The pace settled into a 3.07 through the second kilometer.

The pack began to splinter a this point as the pace picked up. A glance at the watch made us realize we needed to get back on pace in spirt of the wind. Sean and Andrew moved to the front. The pack began to stretch out leaving gaps. I saw this as a crucial point. I knew that I would have to bridge the gap. I ran up to Andrew, settled and then took charge of the pace. We ran through the next km in 3.04.

With two kilometres to go I began to open up pressing hard. Running through the 3km mark in 9:10, I knew I was in good position for the standard. I could risk the blow up. So I pushed the pace while I concentrated on an efficient stride with good posture. I glanced down at my watch pleased to see I was en rout for a solid personal best. My split was 2.56. Encouraged, I pushed harder.

The finish line was in sight for the entire final kilometer which is a bit discouraging yet keeps things simple. 'I just have to go to that line.' I redlined it all the way to the finish with a 2.52 final split.

My overall time ended up being 15.00 on the dot. 35 seconds faster then my personal best. Results can be found HERE. The time gains were the result of six months of consistent, injury/illness free training. We have only completed one track workout so far so it is encouraging to see these improvements based on tempo/steady efforts around Beaver lake.

This upcoming week the Victoria Cycling League starts up. I find this series so valuable for ITU racing. It is a simple way to whip yourself into race ready cycling. They usually bring out a good quality field of cyclists and is guaranteed to be a great workout.

Till then,
Ciao for now,
Andrew

Here are a couple of Videos of from the event.

Created by Alex Coates